Construction industry gains 48k jobs in January

The U.S. construction industry gained 48,000 jobs in January, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The loss pushed the industry from 5.874 million jobs in December (revised from 5.851 million) to 5.922 million jobs in January, more than offsetting a loss of 22,000 jobs in December (revised from 16,000).

Total construction employment in January is 3 percent higher than in January 2013. Unemployment in construction rose from 11.4 percent in December to 12.3 percent in January.

The U.S. as a whole saw a gain of 113,000 jobs in all industries in January, while the total unemployment rate fell slightly from 6.7 percent in December to 6.6 percent in January.